Aging and Ageism

As our community has grown in recent years, it has attracted many younger dancers – a demographic shift that has altered the dynamic of our scene. The previous generation of dancers is getting older in an increasingly younger scene, and in addition to facing changes in their own bodies, they often find themselves facing changes in their relationship with the dance. To better understand what it’s like to age and mature in our dance community, Eric sat down with two good friends – Tom Paderna (a previous guest of the show) and Gail Jacobson (not related to Eric) – to chat about their stories and experiences. They shared some of their physical limitations and how those affect their social dancing and competitive experiences. They talked about how the community has changed over the years and how their own roles have changed as a result. They chatted about ageism in both social dancing and competition, and they discussed the Masters division and some proposed changes to that division. And finally they shared some thoughts on how we all can create a community that is more welcoming and inclusive of older dancers. Take a listen and broaden your own understanding of what your fellow dancers are experiencing. footnotesMastery of SwingImplicit Assessment Test